Franklin school cafeteria workers take wage freeze

Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

Thursday

May 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 28, 2009 at 1:57 AM

While the School Committee is still trying to clinch a deal with the teachers union, the cafeteria workers' vote for a wage freeze is valid, said School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy. The cafeteria workers are one of six units that comprise the Franklin Education Association, Roy said. The units negotiate separately, he said.

While the School Committee is still trying to clinch a deal with the teachers union, the cafeteria workers' vote for a wage freeze is valid, said School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy.

The cafeteria workers are one of six units that comprise the Franklin Education Association, Roy said. The units negotiate separately, he said.

At Tuesday night's School Committee meeting, cafeteria workers' representatives announced the group had voted 19-9 in favor of freezing their wages through next June.

Their contract was due to expire June 30, 2009, Roy said, but the group choose to extend it by a year. A newly negotiated contract will take effect July 1, 2010, Roy said.

"They are the only group that's actually freezing their wages - everybody else is talking about deferring wages," he said.

School officials have not yet calculated how much money the move will save the district, Roy said.

He and School Committee member Susan Rohrbach, who heads the budget subcommittee, said they have not heard whether the school union's other units - educational assistants, nurses, van drivers, or secretaries - are considering deferring their salary increases.

Rohrbach said she was "pleasantly surprised" to learn of the cafeteria workers' decision.

Said Rohrbach: "I'm very proud of them."

Roy said he is still hopeful the School Committee and teachers union can reach an agreement on a wage deferral to save $800,000, or 16 teachers' jobs.

Joyce Kelly can be reached at 508-634-7582 or jkelly@cnc.com. This story and others about Franklin can be found at www.milforddailynews.com.

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